R
rockdrummer
Guest
I find it interesting (and frustrating) that there are so many different manual coded english (MCE) systems out there. As an educated adult I find it confusing when one system signs the word one way but another system signs the same word differently. Add to that the difference in some sign language (ASL) signs and MCE signs. I would have to imagine for a child trying to learn it would be a bit confusing as well. What are your thoughts? Which method do you think is the best for what it is designed and intended for? Also if you can think of any other MCE systems I have missed please include them.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for your time.
Signed English (SE) - American
The term 'Signed English' refers to a much simpler system than SEE1, SEE2, or LOVE. Signed English (occasionally referred to as Siglish) uses ASL signs in English word order, but only 14 grammatical markers. The most common method of Signed English in the US is that created by Harry Bornstein, who worked on the Gallaudet Signed English Project to develop children's books written in both illustrated signs and written English.
Seeing Essential English (SEE1)
Developed in the US in 1966 by a deaf teacher named David Anthony, SEE1 was intended to teach proper grammatical construction by using gestures borrowed from ASL but not in a linguistically logical manner. In SEE1, all compound words are formed as separate signs - instead of using the ASL sign for butterfly, SEE1 places the signs for butter and fly in sequential order. SEE1 also uses the same sign for all homonyms - the same sign is used to sign blue and blew. Many gestures from ASL are initialized in SEE1 - the ASL sign for have is signed with the H handshape in SEE1. Grammatical markers also have signs of their own, including the -ing ending and articles such as the, which are not typically included in ASL. The verb "to be" is unique in SEE1 - is, am, and are are signed in the same way, again using initialization. SEE1 is occasionally referred to as Morphological Sign System (MSS), and it has also been adapted in Poland into Seeing Essential Polish.
Signing Exact English (SEE2)
Main article: Signing Exact English
SEE2 was developed by Gerilee Gustason and Esther Zawolkow in the early 1970s. As an offshoot of SEE1, many features of SEE2 are identical to that code system. Initializations and grammatical markers are also used in SEE2, but compound words with an equivalent ASL sign are used as the ASL sign, as with butterfly. SEE2 is also used in Singapore. About 75% to 80% of SEE2 signs are either borrowed from ASL or are modified ASL signs. As there is no more formal use of SEE1, Signing Exact English is no longer referred to as SEE2, but rather SEE.
Linguistics of Visual English (LOVE)
Developed by Dennis Wampler, LOVE is also quite similar to SEE1 in construction. While most forms of ASL and MCE are transcribed using English glosses, LOVE is written using the notation system developed by William Stokoe.
Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE)
CASE, one of the more recently developed forms of MCE, combines the grammatical structure used in Signed English with the use of concepts rather than words, as is done in ASL. It is becoming one of the more common forms of MCE, and has been used in both interpreter training programs and mainstreamed deaf education. The term Sign Supported English (SSE) is sometimes used to refer to the same thing.
Rochester Method
Perhaps the closest type of MCE to written English, the Rochester method involves fingerspelling every word. It was originated by Zenas Westervelt in 1878, shortly after he opened the Western New York Institute for Deaf-Mutes (presently known as the Rochester School for the Deaf). Use of the Rochester method continued until approximately the 1940s, and there are still deaf adults from the Rochester area who were taught with the Rochester method. It has fallen out of favor because it is a tedious and time-consuming process to spell everything manually, though it is still used in some deafblind settings (see tactile signing).
Source: Manually Coded English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pidgin Sign English
The phrase Pidgin Sign English[5] (PSE, sometimes "Pidgin Signed English") is often used to describe the different contact languages that arise between the English language and either British Sign Language, New Zealand Sign Language, Auslan or American Sign Language, but the term is increasingly falling out of favor.
Source: Contact Sign - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia